I'll Change For You
by SlytherinL
Summary: Itsuki was one of the most popular boys at his all-boy's school, a natural heart-breaker even after getting his own heart broken. He was just planning on continuing his fun and games at Ouran...especially when a certain redheaded first-year caught his eye. But he never meant to fall in love! "I'm a mess..." He sighed, ruffling his hair. "I can't play anymore..." BL, OC/OC/Kasonada
1. Target Spotted

**Just so it's clear, it's a yaoi/BL story...The rating might change later. And cause I hate when the main characters have that moment where they struggle with their sexuality (I get it but I was fortunate enough to grow up thinking that it doesn't matter what gender the person is, if you love them, that's all there is to it.) so the main characters are very open about their homosexuality. Writing this cause Kasanoda needs some love. He's adorable. Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Word spreads really fast at schools like Ouran so it was no surprise that everyone knew about the new third year student by lunchtime. And even if it weren't for how fast rumors and info got around, they's still probably know. After all, the guy had a sort of...presence about him that made him near impossible to ignore. And even if it weren't for that, he was pretty...pretty.

He had looks that got him attention no matter what, even from the guys. Not that he minded though, seeing how he relied on being attractive at his job.

Sighing, Akiyama Itsuki listened to his new classmates go on and on, asking him every question they could think of. "Yeah, my mom is American but I was pretty much raised in a traditional Japanese home until I was twelve." He replied to a question with a tiny smile. "She's a dance instructor so it's more of a studio now."

"Did you really transfer in from an all-boys school?" One of the girls asked shyly, a bit afraid to approach him due to his natural beauty. She was surprised by the smile on his lips when he nodded and the boys laughed, not noticing that the smile wasn't a fake one, made as a friendly gesture, but a more devious real one. Like he was planing something...

"I feel sorry for you! I mean, I know a guy with a dad as big a deal as yours probably has a fiance but still, not a single chance to date or anything..." One of the guys patted Itsuki on the shoulder, though the new third year didn't welcome the gesture or the contact involved. "I mean, how are you supposed to find someone you like when you're surrounded by boys everyday?

The laugh was what made heads turn. "I didn't have a problem with that, you know. I got asked out almost every day." The guys froze for a moment and tried to laugh it off as a joke. "See, there were quite a few there who had...similar preferences at my school. And of course I turned most of them down. But I ended up as the school idol anyhow..."

"Huh...?" One of the guys was clearly uncomfortable but tried not to be rude. "You turned down _most_ of them...?" Itsuki flashed him a mischievous grin and shrugged.

"Some of them were really sweet, shy...Sorta my type. Though I prefer them to be the opposite of how they look. It's surprisingly hard to find a guy like that!" Itsuki winked at the girl whose face was bright red and her eyes sparkling with interest. "I was actually hoping to get kicked out of there though. Too many chances to run into ex-boyfriends, you know?"

The already uncomfortable boy backed up just a tad bit but the dark haired new student noticed it. "Hey, Akiyama...Are you, I mean...You say you've dated boys. Does that mean you're..."

"Yup. I'm gay as hell."

With Itsuki's blunt confession, his reputation of the new gay third year was secured. While he didn't really care what anybody thought of him or if they knew he was gay or not, it did irk him a little how many people in the school were going to treat him differently that usual because he wasn't 'normal'.

"Really, their idea of normal is a bit odd anyhow...I don't see how me being a homo is gonna screw that up." He ran his long fingers through the mess of black hair that he could never seem to tame."Oh, it might be time to get it trimmed..." He commented to nobody in particular as he tugged on the ends of his short bangs. "I'll ask Kazue-nee later." He wandered aimlessly after classes before it hit him-The host club.

He'd heard them talking about it, how hot the guys were, how charming they acted, and just how beautiful their setups were in general. _Maybe its worth a shot_ , he thought. _Even if I don't find the type of guy I like, it'd be nice to have a boyfriend, I guess. 'Sides, in manga it's always when the normal kid goes to the fancy club that she meets her destined love or whatever._

"To the host club it is, then." He decided with little enthusiasm. He already doubted he'd meet a guy who he'd really be interested in there. _After all, my type's a bit weird, I guess._

* * *

Akiyama Izuki's first impression of the host club: _What the actual hell?_

He recognized two other students from his classes: Morinozuka Takashi and the silent giant's constant companion, Haninozuka Mitsukuni but the others were just strangers to him.

There were a pair of identical twins, obviously surprised about his gender, that he mentally filed under "pretty damn cute" but didn't have a serious interest in. Then there was the small, pretty, girlish guy with chocolate brown hair and eyes who he mentally labeled "Tsubasa's type."The guy in the glasses was hot but looked to cool and collected for his tastes and as for the taller blond...Itsuki didn't like having a random guy all up in his space like that, no matter how beautiful they were.

"Dude, back up." He said sharply to the fascinated blonde who was saying too many weird things for him to keep up with. "From the rumors, I'm guessing you're Tamaki Suoh. And the one making notes is Kyouya. Girly-boy there is Haruhi and twins are Hikaru and Kaoru, right? Process of elimination."

He'd heard about the twins. Tricksters who had their own small world and were sorta but not really in love with each other. It was obviously an act and even their fans knew it but why spoil a dream with reality, right? Or that's what he heard from their fans at least...

All that was left after that was assigning names to the remaining three. From the way he acted, the tall blonde's name was obvious. Since was the most popular in the club, information about Tamaki was easy to find.

G _entlemanly, beautiful, flirty, and gets easily carried away. I dunno about the gentlemanly or flirty but he's everything they said he'd be._ Itsuki though, a bit irritated. _He's like that guy in the American show my sister likes...The one in the brown trench coat! The one who has no idea what personal space is!_

That left the girly boy and the cool looking guy with the notebook. _Let's see...Kyouya was supposed to be cool and smart so...Not the guy Tsubasa'd like. Though, honestly, Tsubasa'd go for almost anyone so long as they had a nice face, the shallow jerk. "_ Whoa, I'm a bit of a hypocrite..." He muttered under his breath.

"Hello, Aki-chan~!" Hani smiled and called cheerily. His constant companion nodded. Though the adorable creature brought a smile to his face he still felt the need to correct him.

"Actually, Aki's my sister's name." He said politely. "My fourth sister, in fact. She's in middle school so you'll probably never meet her. But still, just in case, it can get confusing. Since we're classmates, you two can call me Itsuki. Anyway, this is the host club right? And we're still in an otherwise unused music room...So what's up with the, er...decorating?"

Ignoring the question, Tamaki started talking again, waving his arms around dramatically. "Beauty attracts beauty! It seems like only fate that the new student, whose beauty is the talk of rumors all around the school should come to see us! The tragic beauty of a large family!" Itsuki resisted the urge to punch him and put him out of commission for a few days and instead asked him calmly.

"What do you mean, tragic?" Itsuki raised an eyebrow. When Tamaki just gave him a "you know" look, the third year snapped a little inside. "Hey, dumbass blonde. What do you mean, tragic? There isn't anything tragic about my family aside from the fact that my mom's decided to have even more children after I turned out the way I did."

"You mean being gay?" The twins piped up. Itsuki tried to ignore them but the smug look on their faces when they realized it was actually bothering him ticked him off a little too much.

"What's wrong with me being gay? It's never bothered my mom or my father. my sisters don't mind. The guys I date certainly don't mind and neither does my best friend. So what's wrong with being gay?" Though irritated, he spoke calmly. "It's not really a big deal. So I don't see why all of you care so much."

"Rather than your sexual orientation," The glasses guy finally spoke up, "I think what Tamaki is talking about is your father's recent business trouble."

"Oh, the inn..." Itsuki sighed. "Everybody keeps calling it a failure cause he sold it for much less than it was worth but he only gave it back to the people it belonged to before him." Girls had already swarmed up to the club entrance but stopped to whisper and talk about how the new guy went straight to the Host Club after classes. He quickly stepped aside with a smile, happy to do anything to get away from further conversations with the chairman's son.

He decided to watch instead as the club started their activities having drinks in the indoor tropical garden. The whole time, a lot of girls kept their eyes on him, hoping for some sort of BL development.

* * *

 **(Itsuki's POV)**

* * *

Watching turned out to be really boring.

The girls seemed to take delight from my presence at the club, hoping for something straight out of a BL manga to happen. I observed them closely...and realized that none of them were doing this all that seriously. They were just having fun.

Mori does pretty much nothing besides sit there looking attractive while Hani looks (and is) adorable, the twins flirt, Tamaki says a bunch of weird nonsense to people who eat it right up, Kyouya sells stuff and acts like a con man, while the small first year just chats with the girls and make them swoon without doing anything.

I was about to leave, just call Tsubasa or my driver or whoever to pick me up when someone walked into me. He tried to apologize almost shyly and I noticed he was holding bag of vegetables. "No it's my ba-" I froze when I saw his flushed face. He was obviously excited or he was meeting the person he liked cause he barely seemed to notice me.

"F-Fujioka!" He stuttered slightly and rushed up to the pretty boy. He was covered with dirt but his shoes were clean so he didn't cause a mess. His red hair was pulled away from his face except for his bangs, a long lock falling right across his face. Though he looked like he was the type who naturally glares without trying, he didn't seem all that bad.

The girls seemed excited to see him talking to the Fujioka guy and I knew right away that he really did like him. He was sorta obvious...But that didn't stop me from becoming extremely interested in him. "Who the heck...?" I wondered, not taking my eyes off him.

"Thank you Kasanoda-kun!" I heard the first year say. _Kasanoda, Kasanoda, Kasanoda..._ I repeated it over and over in my head so I wouldn't forget the name. "I guess your club is going well!" He also said. _Gardening club? Agricultural club?_ I wondered.

"Y-yeah. I just rushed over to give you these cause they turned out really well." Kasanoda said bashfully. _He's shy too, huh?_ I smiled. Sometimes guys in love could be so cute!

"It's really nice to have great friends, huh?" I felt my phone slip through my fingers but I luckily caught it before it fell and broke. I looked back up to see how that Kasanoda guy took being friend-zoned. To my surprise neither he nor the ones around him looked shocked. They gave him sympathetic smiles and Kasanoda himself almost smiled. I felt my heart ache at the sight, knowing a bit of how that felt.

 _Still, does that Fujioka boy even have the slightest idea that the guy loves him or not? It didn't seem intentional._ The red head was about to leave so I quickly blocked his way and put on an innocent look. _This guy seems kinda cute...I want to see more of him._

"Excuse me...I'm sorry for getting in your way. I'm new you see so I'm sorta lost. Since you're on your way out, I was wondering if you could help me?" I gave him a sweet, innocent smile he seemed to think was real.

"I-I'm on my way back to my club but okay!" He stuttered nervously, his cheeks turning a bit pink, probably because he was talking to a stranger. "I'm first year, Kasanoda Ritsu."

"Akiyama. I'm a third year. Do you mind if I call my friend real quick? I want to make sure he meets me out at the gates." He shook his head, looking a bit confused. I dialed Tsubasa's number and while I waited for him to pick up, I wandered slightly from my "guide's" side so he wouldn't hear me if I talked soft enough. "Hey beautiful." I laughed when he answered, groaning sleepily.

 _"Shut up. I'm trying to sleep! My head's killing me! Why aren't you hung over?"_ I laughed again. Getting Tsubasa drunk was worth dealing with him being ticked off at me the next day. Nothing in the world is quite as funny as him trying to perform any of Shakespeare's monologues while struggling to stand up straight. _"Are you completely sure you're human?!"_

"I left the aspirin on your nightstand before I left last night. Next to your sketchbook. Plus, coffee's set up. Just hit start and wait a minute or two and you'll have fresh coffee. I used the expensive stuff cause I knew you'd be feeling like crap." I told him with a smile.

 _"You're not human. You're an angel."_ His adorable yawn only made me smile wider. _"What do you want anyway?"_

"Pick me up?" I asked sweetly. "Remember you love coffee. I made you coffee so you should love me too. So pick me up? Cause you love me."

" _Bridal_ _style or_ _piggyback_?" I could almost hear his grin over the phone. _"Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be there. No complaining about my clothes or I'll throw you out while the car's moving."_

"As long as you're wearing clothes, I don't care which sweatpants you wear. Just wear a shirt with it, please. And don't worry. There's not exactly a rush."

 _"Good first day?"_ I bit my lip to keep myself from smirking.

"Maybe it's about to be." I hung up on him before he could ask for details and turned back to Kasanoda. "Sorry 'bout that. He's not feeling that great but he'll be waiting for me by the time I find my way back to the front gate." I laughed and gave him my cutest smile.

He mumbled something as we started to walk together. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, wishing I knew a bit more about him.

"Do you go to the host club often?" I decided to ask just to start a conversation. He nodded. "Cause of Fujioka?"

"We're friends so I sometimes go to just talk and stuff." His face was already starting to turn slightly pink at the mention of the one he liked.

"Even though you're in love with him?" I smiled sweetly. "And don't ask me how I know or if I have a problem with it. You're obvious, from the way your cheeks turn pink when you look at him to the way you rushed up here to give him veggies you grew. You could've waited til tomorrow, right? But you just raced to the club with dirt all over you! It's kinda cute really."

His face was almost as red as his hair. "And just so you know, I'm not going to give you the whole 'gay is sin' crap cause I don't feel the need to save you from yourself to make myself feel better about myself. 'Sides, I'm not that much of a hypocrite."

He froze halfway down the last staircase when my words finally sunk in. "Huh?! I'm not gay!" He sounded a little angry and his 'huh' was weirdly intimidating but I kept smiling.

"I am." I laughed first at the fact that he thought he was straight then at the look on his face. It must have been quite a scene to the onlookers. After all, the new gay kid walks to the front gate with a random first year, makes the younger guy turn bright red, then falls over himself with laughter, actually clutching his stomach as he laughed... _Can't wait to hear what they have to say about me tomorrow._

"But it doesn't really matter, huh? You just love who you love." I said seriously after wiping my tears of laughter away and regaining the ability to breathe properly. "Even if they're not good for you and even if it doesn't make much sense. Love sure is a pain, don't you think?"

"I-I don't think Fujioka's bad for me..." He muttered quietly. He seemed really uncomfortable with the subject. I watched the window as he talked, seeing Tsubasa's sleek black car pull up to the front as he made faces at me through the driver seat window. "And it makes sense! Sh-He was one of my first friends! One of the first people who could talk normally with me." I saw his reflection in the glass and quickly turned, just fast enough to get to see his real smile.

"You really do love him..." I muttered. "And you got turned down? Friend-zoned? Did you even confess?" _Ah, his eyes darted away on the last two. Ouch...Poor guy._ "Oh...Sorry. Must really suck...But you know, after talking to you and all, I don't think Fujioka's all that smart, honor student or not."

Before he could get ticked off at me for insulting the person he loved, I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek. I stayed close to him as I spoke.

"First of all, your feelings are an open book to even a stranger. Second of all..." I smiled and finally pulled away, leaning back slightly on the heels of my feet. "I wouldn't friend-zone someone with such a cute smile." My smile changed a bit into a grin. "Bye-bye, Kasanoda Ritsu."

His face flushed and I winked before turning around and waving my hand lazily both as a hello to Tsubasa and a goodbye to Kasanoda. Not only did it look cool, that way the boy I had a mild interest in couldn't see me making stupid and possibly inappropriate faces right back to my best friend.

But hey, what's the point of having a bestie if you can't be a kid with them once and a while? (Well, in our cases, it was being an adult once in a while but there's no way I could act this way with anyone else.)

I got into the seat next to him and closed the door. Still sticking out his tongue, he turned to me and I rolled my eyes while grinning. "Good first day?" He asked when he put his tongue back in his mouth and stopped making faces.

"Maybe. It depends on how tomorrow plays out." I bit back laughter when he raised his eyebrows with a look that I'd come to learn over the years. That's how he looked at me when there was any sort of romantic development in my life, no matter how small or meaningless, and he wanted ALL the details. "First year."

"Redhead." Tsubasa commented. "Is it natural or dyed?" I felt like he was about to start talking about how unnatural and strange Kasanoda's hair looked which I found a bit funny since nobody does half as many weird things with their hair as my best friend.

Actually, about a month ago, he dyed his hair back to its natural black before turning almost all of it, except his bangs, white as snow. It actually looks sorta good with his light blue eyes which are pretty much the only thing he seemed to have inherited from his mother who was half American.

"It attracts attention and he's sorta shy so I'd say natural. He looks tough but his smile is pretty cute."

"So he's your target?" Tsubasa handed me his phone which he used to take several photos of me talking to the boy.

"Target spotted." I replied with a smile and a nod, slightly happy I transferred after all.


	2. Meowalator

**I own nothing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **(Itsuki's POV)**

"Hey, babe," Tsubasa asked as he drove back to his place, "why don't you just stay with me today? It's not like you have to see your dad off at the airport or anything tonight."

I playfully punched him in the arm. "Stop calling me that, Tsubasa. And sorry, Mom wants me home to see my sister off on her date tonight. The guy can't take a hint, and Kazue us just too nice to just flat out say no to him. We're thinking the creepy, clingy family approach might work out great."

"Damn, that actually sounds sorta of fun! Try wearing your uniform from Junior High and acting half your age. Not only will you be freaking adorable, he'll also be so thoroughly weirded out to go anywhere near your Dad's local place again!"

I felt a bit bad when he said "local place" because...Tsubasa sort of hated my dad. And me for a while. When he says something in that tone of voice, the little bit of bitterness in his words reminds me of that. It kind of hurts to remember so I try to forget it and pretend that I didn't hear it. I just feel like he doesn't have to know that he hurt me again. The first time was enough...

"It doesn't fit. I actually had a small growth spurt right before getting sized for this uniform. Could you tell? My shoes aren't raised anymore. It's all natural. All natural perfection" I laughed as I dramatically brushed my bangs from my face and he rolled his eyes.

"You're a decent, respectable height. So I don't see why you want to be freakishly tall or anything like that." I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt him relax when he felt the warmth from my slightly flushed face.

"Cause you're too tall, you tree-like bastard." I teased. " I can't always do this...You have to be sitting down for me to put my head on your shoulder like this. So I want to hurry and grow up!" I added, "Then you'll never be able to see me as a kid again." He tensed, biting his lip, something he did when he felt guilty, and I realized what I'd brought up again on accident. "I just mean that I want to be your absolute equal, that's all." I straightened up and looked out my window.

It was quiet in the car for a little longer. "I'm sorry." I heard him whisper, though he must've thought I didn't hear. He always says that, even when I tell him its okay. The past is the past. But on some level, I understood he wasn't saying it for my sake but for himself. While it broke me, it was even worse for him. While I healed, he was still picking up shards and finding missing pieces.

No matter how much time passed, he still felt guilty about it.

"'Sides," I finally picked our conversation back up, "you know I cannot stand that dirty look shooting, food thieving, fish scented, dirt-"

He smacked me lightly on the head with a tiny smile, "Stop insulting my cat, meanie. She's my precious angel!" I pouted childishly.

"The thing's a hairball with legs. And your cat's the mean one, man. Not a cool cat _at all_. She loses her chill every time I see her!"

"Meanie."

"Crazy cat dude."

* * *

"Do you even know why she hates me?" I winced while he treated the deep scratches Meowalater gave my hand from just brushing my fingers over her fur.

"Maybe she's got a thing with the way you smell?" He guessed. "Some anti-cat smell that makes her upset? She's never like this with me."

"Honestly...it's like that cat is jealous of me or something. Remember that one guy at our old school who tried to get me to go out with him but still let him date his girlfriend? That cat acts just like that girl did even after I rejected him. She might think I'm trying to steal her half-coffee human away."

"That's silly, even for you, Itsuki." He put the bandages on my right hand and kissed my fingertips gently. Like always, I got a bit flustered from him treating me like that. It's been years, but my heart never seemed to get the memo and still raced because of him...more often than I'll ever like to admit.

"T-Thank you." I managed to mutter out but because I didn't want to take my hand from his...I just didn't. He didn't seem to mind and kept holding it gently.

"Itsuki..." He muttered. "I really am sorry."

"You should say that to your cat. You got drunk and named it something you'd call a giant robot. Then it stuck forever!" I tried to lighten the mood. "Poor thing..." I wasn't quite sure if I meant Tsubasa or his pet, a former stray.

"Why weren't you as sick as me this morning?" He asked casually, maybe thinking I glad a magic spell to prevent hangovers. I rolled my eyes and replied as if it was completely obvious since, well, it was.

"You're the only idiot who actually gets drunk off a couple beers, you idiot. And you always forget that I don't really drink." A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Did you even go to school today, Tsubasa?!"

He shifted awkwardly, a tell I knew to expect from him after many years of friendship. "I got out earlier. Ouran must get out later than our school or something." He was such a bad liar; he hadn't even done his online classes, had he?!

"Dude! You're supposed to be two years ahead of me! You're stuck in your second year cause of crap like that!" I scolded him. "You're so fricken' smart so I just don't get it! Why can't you just do the work or show up once in a while?!"

"Get off my back!" He suddenly shouted at me. "You don't have any idea how it feels to be there without you! I hate it! You were the only one at that school who treats me like I belong!" Realizing how meanly he'd just snapped at me, he stared awkwardly at the floor. "I miss you." He admitted in a whisper.

"You'll still see me all the time; I'll come over anytime you call, okay? And if they keep talking crap about you, I'll kick their butts for you!" I laughed and felt my heart race when I got a big smile from him in reply. "Hey, tomorrow I'll be waiting for you after school. Come pick me up, okay? I'll let you do _that_ again, okay?" He paused before replying. "Not that thing!" My face got hot. "I meant with the markers! I'll let you use my back again!" Tsubasa laughed. "Dirty mind..." I grumbled as I avoided his eyes.

My eyes met that hairball's glinting blues. She hissed and I knew a second attack was coming. I screamed but it only seemed to encourage her. Her claws just stuck to me no matter how hard Tsubasa tried to get her off.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this cat? I swear it's possessed by the devil.

Or maybe it _is_ the devil itself.

* * *

"Itsuki! What the hell happened to you?!" My sister, all dolled up for a date she was planning to ruin, shrieked when she saw all of the new bandages on my face, arms, and legs.

"Meowalator." I hissed like it was the dirtiest of swear words.

My sister knew exactly what I meant.

* * *

 **This took way longer than I expected but I'm glad it got it up today. Sorter than chapter one but I wanted to have short bit with just Tsubasa and Itsuki having a moment. Plus an evil cat. Sorry for any mistakes. Just gave it a quick edit and realized how many there actually were. Wow...**


	3. Rainbows Everywhere!

**I'm gonna screw with the canon timeline of events a little bit. Nothing major. Just feel like mixing it up.**

* * *

 **(Itsuki's POV)**

* * *

"This school's way too big..." I groaned as I drug my feet. It was only my second day! Why were all the teachers glaring at me so much already?! "Not to mention, the girls are mental..." I walked through the front gates this morning, minding my own business, and was ambushed by girls saying they supported me and adored my strength. Apparently I'm a "brave soul" for being so open about my sexual preference and not caring what others think. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be able to avoid being hated and all but that was just...a bit ridiculous, really.

"Itsu-chan!" I heard a bright, childish voice call out. I turned to see a small blonde boy running towards me, accompanied by a tall boy. "We've got English first today!" _Ah, this adorable creature's named...Hani, right?_ "Are you good at English, Itsu-chan?"

"Eh, I'm pretty fluent..." I overlooked the nickname. "Good morning, Mori." I nodded towards the straight faced guy who nodded back without a smile. "You guys have club activities today too?"

"Yup!" Hani smiled ear to ear, hugging his bunny close. "Tama-chan asked about you! He was wondering if you wanted to join! The girls like you!" I laughed warily, just imagining the day I'd finally snap and punch that guy's face in. "But I thought you might like to join the gardening club instead!"

"Why?" I asked, curious. I never saw myself as much of a gardener...Actually, I usual avoid going outside. Nothing good can come of venturing outside my room after all. The world inside my room is much better than the one outside with all the noise and, ugh, bugs. I _hate_ bugs..."I mean, I'm not really the outdoorsy type...And I DESPISE bugs with all my being so it's not really a good fit."

"Kasanoda." Mori interjected, speaking for the first time since I'd met him. "You're friends?" It was less of a statement and more of a question. Thinking about the redhead, I grinned.

"Maybe soon, I hope. He seems pretty interesting." Mori finally smiled softly. "Does he...you know...go to see Fujioka every day?" _It irritates me a little that the easiest way to casually bump into the guy I'm intrested in is to wait for him to come see his crush._ I grit my teeth at the thought. At my old school, it was annoyingly easy; guys came to me first. I'd either turn them down in the sweetest way I could so I could keep my reputation or accept their confession, date for a few weeks, and break up with them in a way that still shows me in a good light. I guess I got used to not having to try...

"Not every day but he comes to see Haru-can a lot!" Hani smiled widely again, his smile one that seemed to make flowers blossom out of thin air. _Ah, I wanna hug him..._ I found myself thinking. "He'll be there today!"

"Oh? Then I guess I'll be there too. Just by chance." I winked with a devious grin.

* * *

The moment I stepped in that room, I regretted it. "Oh, holy..." I let out a soft groan. "What is this? I don't..." I shook my head, dumbstruck. "Why..." I paused, trying to find the right words. "I just mean it's kind of..." I looked around. "You really..." I looked up. "Oh, god. The ceiling too." Tamaki grinned proudly. "Sorry, I need to, um, make a phone call." I excused myself from the room with a smile.

It was much easier to breathe now, I thought, the shock starting to wear off. I quickly dialed Tsubasa's number, waiting impatiently for him to pick up. Finally, I heard his voice. _"What's up, babe?"_

"Rainbows." I replied, exasperated, "So many fucking rainbows. Oh my god. It's like a pride parade on steroids and LSD!" He howled with laughter as I shook, still recovering from the sight. "I was surrounded! They were everywhere! Anywhere you turned, there was a rainbow!"

 _"Were there sparkles too?"_ Tsubasa asked, obviously amused. Usually, I'd kill to hear him so cheery, so teasing. (Don't judge a guy for the things he loves, okay?) _"Oh, or confetti?!"_ Now I just wanted to kill him.

"I wasn't about to take that risk and find out!" I whined, surprised by how overwhelming it all was. "It's horrible! Six of them were just standing there, waiting for me to say something like dogs who just brought back the ball in a game of fetch! I couldn't say how much I didn't like it; it'd be like kicking a puppy with how Suoh Tamaki was looking at me! Only one of them seemed as weirded out as me and that's the one I'm rivals with!"

 _"The red-head's crush?"_ Tsubasa chuckled. " _Damn, this sounds like fun. I gotta see this!"_ A feeling of dread washed over me. Ranbows, glitter, confetti, and pretty boys...Wasn't that right up artsy Tsubasa's alley?! I'd never get to leave!

"No! Get me outta here!" I pleaded."Please, I'll give your cat treats! I'll do almost anything to get out of here without offending these people!"

 _"You know I can't walk away from a rainbow, babe!_ " He laughed even harder now. _"I'll be there in ten! Wait for me; I want to get a tour while I'm at it. Heard you guys have really grandiose hallways. Why decorate a hallway that much?! It's a hallway, not a banquet hall! I just gotta see it! Come on, cone on! Pleeeease don't get mad at me for wanting to see it! I'll be lost without you!"_ Now it was my turn to laugh.

Everybody making some big deal about supporting the gay kid made me feel beyond uneasy. I almost wanted to curl up and cry. They were almost like my family when I finally came out except...the setting was a whole lot different. _"Hey, Itsuki? You okay?"_ Tsubasa asked worriedly.

"Yeah." I smiled. "I feel better now. You...help a lot. Thank you for always being here for me." All the unease and sick feelings vanished at the sound of his voice, at his teasing, and the sound of his laughter. All I felt now was a huge rush of adoration for him, something I'd grown used to over the years we'd spent together. "How do you always make things so much better?" I asked softly, my heart warm and light.

 _"Cause I'm the shit."_ He joked with the same sort of warmth in his voice. I laughed before he continued. _"And you love me for it."_ I froze up, my chest tightening slightly. There was just a hint of guilt and regret in his voice. He wished he hadn't said it. I wanted to take it back the moment the words left his perfect lips. We both fell silent for a few moments. _"Itsuki...you know I love you too, right?"_ He added again, softly. The words sounded so genuine that they hurt, like knives driving into my chest.

"I know." I said shortly. "See you in ten." I hung up before he could say anything else to make me want to cry. Leaing against the third music room's door, I listened to Tamaki giving the other, obviously uninterested or mocking, hosts how to best interact with me based on the info Kyouya had dug up on me.

"The middle child of a large family! How sad he is, never getting any attention!" Tamaki carried on. "We must support him, care for him like family would, and never let anyone make him feel like an outcast for his gayness!" I rolled my eyes before walking, confidently, back into the room. _As long as I don't focus on the rainbows, I should be okay...As long as I keep myself from snapping and tearing that blond idiot's head off...then I should be okay until Tsubasa gets here._

* * *

 **Seriously though, it really does suck when people carry on about your being gay when you used to be really insecure about it...Thanks for all the reviews! See you next time!**


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